Milanese appeals court judges have confirmed a central plank in the prosecution's case against Premier Silvio Berlusconi's former attorney, Cesare Previti, in the so-called SME trial. In 1991, the sum of $434,000 was transferred from Berlusconi's Fininvest group to the bank account of a Rome magistrate via another account held by Previti, the judges said in remarks published on Tuesday.
Throughout the trial, prosecutors have argued that the lawyer bribed a Rome court to rule against one of Berlusconi's rivals in a corporate battle for the formerly state-owned SME food group. Judges upheld a five-year corruption conviction against Previti, a one-time defence minister, last December but as is customary waited three months to issue an explanation of their decision.
In their comments, they said the payment from Previti to the Rome magistrate was "absolutely certain".
They also said it amounted to "dramatic evidence" in support of a web of relations and payments that, according to a key witness, existed between Roman judges and Fininvest. There was no immediate comment from Previti. The judges threw out defence calls for a lower sentence because of mitigating circumstances, citing the "seriousness" of the charges.
Previti, a 71-year-old lawmaker with Berlusconi's Forza Italia party, has denied all wrongdoing and is scheduled to make a final appeal against his sentence at the Supreme Court. Under Italy's three-tier justice system, defendants have a right to two appeals before a sentence is considered definitive.
Previti was first convicted in November 2003, when judges said Renato Squillante, the Rome magistrate, had received "regular payments" from Previti and another co-defendant, Rome attorney Attilio Pacifico. Berlusconi was acquitted in the same trial in December 2004, on one count because of the statute of limitations.
According to Berlusconi and Previti, the SME trial is one of several examples of a left-leaning judiciary trying to sabotage the premier's political career. Previti is also a defendant in another corruption trial which is soon to go before the Supreme Court. In that trial, which involves the Berlusconi group's battle for the Mondadori publisher, he has been sentenced to seven years.
The Fininvest group spans advertising, insurance, publishing and television.
